Still Life Pose
by Dragon Pants
Summary: TroyRyan And we'll keep working on the problem that no one ever solved, of loves uneven remainder our lives are fractions of a whole.


Standard Disclaimers apply.

So instead of dealing with the last couple days of school, I'm Writing more fanfiction. Yay for me, I also graduate this Sunday Yay for me. Just thought I would share.

This is another Songfic oneshot type deal. The song is **Bowl of Oranges** by Bright Eyes, which is an amazing song, because it means Bright Eyes actually has a happy song for once. Lyrics will be in italics.

In here I really wanted to try characterizing Ryan different from the goofy slight dumb, but very loving and open gay kid that he most often is, so this was me trying to see if I could change it.

And once again pardon the poor grammar.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Still Life Pose

_The Rain it Started Tapping on the window near my bed._

Ryan Evans was an odd person. Although his parents preferred the term, unconventional. He didn't fit the normal Evans stereo type, sure he had blond hair, blue eyes, expensive clothes and a button nose, but that was only in appearance. Truth be told, Ryan was quite different from his conservative robotic upbringing, through it all he somehow became a free spirit.

Secretly his parents blamed the musicals, although that proved false because Sharpay was still their perfect daughter. He was quiet too. Sharpay was outspoken, demanding, and because of that people assumed he just agreed with her, but really Ryan was just nice enough to help his sister out.

Ryan did things no other Evans did, ran as much as possible, participated in peace rallies, and even learned how to play the folk guitar. He liked things no other Evans liked, watching sunrises, camping out doors, and most of all the rain, it was his favorite thing, the steady rhythm was a way to help him think and relax, tonight however it was just making him more restless.

_There was a loophole in my dreaming, so I got out of it,_

_And to my surprise my eyes were wide and already open,_

For some reason something was on his mind that wouldn't let him go.

Many people assumed that he was dumb simply because he hardly said anything and followed the lead of his sister. But really, it was because he liked to watch people, and Sharpay was connected. Not that he didn't like his sister, or that he didn't enjoy her company, but when he appeared to be staring off in space, he was probably analyzing someone.

It was one of his favorite pastimes, why did people act like they did? What would happen if a variable was changed in their every day existence? They were all things he liked to think about, especially with couples. Being in Sharpay's shadow he never really had a relationship, people were afraid of Sharpay's bite and her bark.

Earlier today he noticed a couple that he never thought was possible. From his vantage point in the balcony above the cafeteria he noticed something, two people sitting across from one another, heads bent with a basketball between them, it looked normal enough, but Ryan caught something very different, their knees were slightly touching, it looked fairly casual, like they just happened to be placed, there, but something about it was very intimate. Surprisingly, the two people were boys, even more surprisingly both basketball players.

_Just my night stand and my dresser, _

_were those nightmares had just been,_

_So I dressed myself and left them, out into the grey streets,_

Troy Bolton and Jason Cross, two people that he never though would be together. He considered for a second, then nodded a bit. He knew Jason was closeted, his best friend (other than Sharpay of course, so really his only friend) Kelsi had been dating him, until he told her that he was gay of course.

But Troy? Not only was he the Wild Cat superstar, but didn't he like Sharpay? It seemed like they were always flirting... but as he thought back, he supposed that the flirting was more like Sharpay flirting with Troy, the feelings were not returned.

Then it clicked, it actually made a lot more sense than he gave it credit. Even after the musical when everyone thought he and Gabriella would become the perfect couple, Troy just laughed it off and they remained just friends.

Hist thoughts then turned just to Troy, even though Ryan didn't really consider himself to be gay, or even bi, not that he was repulsed by boys, he just wasn't attracted to them, except for maybe Troy. For him he could make an exception, the amazing blue eyes, naturally talented voice, athletic body, tight ass...

_Everything seemed different completely new to me_

_The sky, the trees, houses, buildings, even my own body,_

_And each person I encountered I couldn't wait to meet._

Finally Ryan just threw back his covers, got out of bed, put on some clothes and left through his window. As soon as he untangled himself, he took off. Ryan didn't necessarily know where he was going, but running felt good despite the rain, or maybe because of it. The rain seemed like it was washing everything away, all of his thoughts, and worries. Before he knew it, the only thing he was focusing on was the pounding of his feet on the pavement. This was the best part, just feeling the rhythm in himself as he became apart of the world around him. He turned and came to a stop, his random running had taken him by a park that seemed very familiar.

It then dawned on him, the memory was insanely vivid for something so far back. His family had gone on one of their all-American-perfect-family outings, which had begun with a picnic, complete with red and white checkered blanket. Afterwards, he wanted to play on the teeter toter, the bouncing up and down was quite a thrill at that age. Sharpay however found the teeter toter there unsatisfactory, as did his parents. The next day his father bought home a very nice, very expensive back yard set, complete with a brightly colored teeter toter.

Ryan kind of wondered why that memory was so important, he had probably forgotten half a dozen more like it, grinning now, there was no one to stop him. He ran around like a mad man, in wild circles, then rolled down a hill, he came to a stop at the bottom, panting. Then he happened to notice that he was by the leg of a bench, and occupied bench, and the occupant? Was Troy Bolton.

_And I came upon a doctor, who appeared in quite poor health,_

_I said, "There's nothing I can do for you,_

_That you can't do for yourself." He said, "Oh yes you can,_

_Just hold my hand and I think that, that would help."_

_So I sat with him a while and asked him how he felt._

Ryan was a bit embarrassed, he sister would not be pleased. He sat up and attempted to begin explaining himself, he had just opened his mouth, when he noticed that Troy was crying. Not only that, but his red eyes and tear- stained cheeks indicated that he had been their for quite some time.

Ryan got up off the grass and sat down quietly beside him, Troy looked at him, sniffled, then turned back to staring ahead.

Being the analytic person he was, Ryan immediately tried figuring out what was wrong. His thoughts turned to Jason back at the cafeteria, despite the general coziness of it, they really hadn't looked like they were talking about something, but their brief touches, the way their knees were so, so close, legs slightly intertwined. Their serious faces and basketball were the only things that prevented it from giving themselves away.

Troy sniffled again and attempted to wipe the remainder of his tears with the back of his hand. Ryan couldn't resist, he put his hand on Troy's, they intertwined fingers and sat.

Troy's tears had stopped and instead of the air of sadness, it became more of a comfortable silence.

Looking down at their clasped hands, Troy smiled slightly, "Thanks." He was about to say more, but Ryan just stood, pulled the other boy along side him and set off walking. When they reached his destination, he released Troy's hand, climbed on one end, and motioned for Troy to get on the other.

_He said, "I think I'm cured, Thank you stranger, _

_For your therapeutic smile. _

As they pushed off steadily, each taking turns going up, then down, in an even rocking pace, Troy stopped the teeter toter. Took a deep breath, which was then let out in a sigh, "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here in the middle of the night aren't you?"

Ryan pushed up off the ground to continue their patter on bouncing up and down, "Jason," it wasn't a question, just a simple statement.

Troy stared down at Ryan, Then up, then down, this continued, on staring the other smirking, until finally, "How did you know?"

A pause, then a shrug, "I just noticed."

The athlete choked up a bit, "He said I was a mistake."

It was Ryan's turn to stare, "Why?" The question came out so soft it barely registered.

"I don't know, I thought everything was going right, then he said that I meant nothing to him, that nothing we had ever done mattered."

"Did it matter to you?"

"Yeah, I mean, he just seemed so perfect, like he knew where he was going, and was so confident in himself."

"Then why did he run?"

"I don't know, I guess he just wanted to move on."

"Oh, then I guess he's just making a mistake."

"No," There was a tinge of regret in his voice, "I should have known, Jason was always like this, even with girls, he would make the world of them, then leave, I just thought it might be different this time."

"Then maybe the mistake was yours."

No answer.

"I think you should just move on."

"It's not that easy."

"But he didn't care about you."

"But I cared about him!"

"Theres an easy answer to this."

"Like what?" There was now a more defensive sound to it than anything.

"You're worth it Troy, your so much more worth it than Jason could see, you need some one who can."

"Thank you."

Ryan climbed carefully off of his side and helped Troy off the other, "Anytime, but school is going to start in about an hour." With that he took off running back home.

_So thats how I learned the lesson that every ones alone_

_And your Eyes must do some raining if your every gonna grow._

Through out the next week Ryan and Troy hardly saw one another, just a brief exchange of smiles before homeroom, a casual wave of passing in the hallways.

After a bit Troy stopped Ryan, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I just wanted to thank you, for the other day you know?"

"Oh it's really no problem, I'd help you anytime."

"Well, I was wondering maybe if you wanted to hang out sometime, you know catch a movie or something?"

"Yeah that would be fun," Ryan then figured it out, that maybe Troy was asking for something more than a movie, "Oh, I mean, well..."

Troy's face fell a little bit, but for once, Ryan was too paniced for it to register, "It's not a date."

A small sigh escaped Ryan's lips, " Okay, when do you want to do it?"

"How about you come over today after school and we'll figure it out hen."

"Sounds great." The warning bell rang and they parted ways. As they did Ryan couldn't help but wonder were this was all going to end up.

_And when crying don't help you can't compose yourself, _

_It's best to compose a poem._

_An honest verse of longing or a simple song of hope._

And that was the start of a friendship between Ryan and Troy, it appeared to the rest of East High as one of the strangest there was. But really Ryan and Troy were more a lot than anyone realized. They also learned a lot about each other.

Troy learned that Ryan was a lot different from who he appeared to be, just because he allowed Sharpay to talk, didn't mean that he was opinionless, just because he didn't speak up in class didn't mean he wasn't intelligent, just because he dressed flamboyantly, didn't mean he was gay.

The last one came about by an interesting conversation, one day Troy just couldn't resist brining it up.

"So whats with all the hats?"

"I like hats, they show personal expression."

"But do they ALWAYS have to match your outfits?"

"Oh, well thats because of Sharpay, she always wants us to compliment, heaven forbid that the Evans twins clash, " Ryan rolled his eyes.

"So you just let her dress you?"

"Yeah, at the end of every month she plans next months outfits, my only requirements are nothing magenta, and has to have a hat."

"You know people think you're gay because of the way you dress right?"

A Shrug, "Oh well."

"You don't care that people you're something you're not?"

"Well, I never said I wasn't, and who I like shouldn't matter, people should like or dislike me for me, not for who I like."

Troy was still no closer to figuring out whether or not Ryan was gay, or not, than the beginning of the conversation.

Ryan likewise, learned many things about Troy, even more so than merely observing him. Troy, was a lot more sensitive than he let on, he was also a lot more obvious. He knew the brown haired boy was wondering about his orientation and he really did enjoy keeping him wondering. Almost as much as he enjoyed his company.

_Thats why I'm sining baby don't worry, _

_Because now I got your back, and every time you feel like crying_

_I'll try and make you laugh, and if I can't,_

_It just hurts to bad, then we'll wait for it to pass_

_And I will keep you company for those days so long and Black._

Internally however, Ryan was questioning himself more and more. He knew he was attracted to Troy, but he also never really had a friend before apart from Sharpay, besides Kelsi. He knew things could could be made better if he just told him, but he couldn't make a move to save his life.

Sharpay saw Ryan's new friendship with Troy as a new opportunity to try and get at Troy. Troy was a little more than oblivious to it all.

Troy was always asking side long questions trying to figure Ryan out. The blond wasn't giving an inch though, and Troy was kept in the dark.

Ryan was a lot colder than he let on. He may not act like every other Evans and tried not to be like every Evans, but he was still was an Evans, twin of the "ice queen," and did a lot of cold calcuations, currently he was calculating the other boy.

_And we'll keep working on the problem that no ones every solved_

_Of loves uneven remainder our lives are fractions of a whole._

Ryan and Troy continued for a while, their strange relationship, until Ryan snapped. It wasn't a snap like a rubberband stretched to breaking point, it was more like a chain holding something in, that falls and admits defeat, Ryan Evans was totally into Troy Bolton.

They were in the park where Ryan had first found a distraught Troy. They were side by side enjoying the company and the scenery, when Ryan turned to Troy studying him, they other boy, feeling the stare, turned to face him, "What?"

The blond grinned and shook his head. Troy again repeated his question.

Ryan gave a small laugh and tapped the other on the nose, "You're cute, I like you."

Troy took that as the last cue. He leaned in to press his lips to Ryan's, it was gentle and sweet, and better than anything Ryan could have imagined.

That was the final step to melt Ryans heart implanted by the rest of the Evans family. He threw caution to the wind and his heart and soul into Troy Bolton. It was like filling an emptyness that you never knew existed, but now that it was filled, he never wanted to live without it again. This, he thought, might just be love.

_But if the world could have remained within a frame_

_Like a painting on a wall_

_Then I think we'd see the beauty then and stand staring in awe_

So Troy and Ryan learned a lot about themselves and each other, their strange friendship turned into a possibly stranger relationship. They hit some minor bumps and brusies, they learned the careful art of compromise.

Past all the strangeness of it, they just seemed to fit together, like puzzle pieces from two different pictures. As if two entirely different puzzles were thrown together and through the chaos, they two of them just happened to be a perfect match. Some how it just worked.

_At our still life Pose,_

_Like a bowl of oranges, _

_Like a story told, by the fault lines, and the soil._

End.


End file.
